Huffaker wins Wolf Prize

Carl B. Huffaker

Carl B. Huffaker, professor emeritus of entomology at UC Berkeley and a leading expert in the biological control of weeds and insect pests, has been awarded the 1994–95 Wolf Prize, the highest honor in agriculture.

The $100,000 prize announced by the Wolf Foundation in Tel Aviv, Israel, is to be shared by Perry L. Adkisson, former chancellor of Texas A&M University and regents professor of entomology.

Huffaker, who retired in 1985, is known not only for his practical field work in the biological control of weeds and other pests, but for broader studies in the area of population dynamics, particularly the interactions between predator and prey.

He and Adkisson were leaders in developing the concept of integrated pest management (IPM). They documented not only that IPM works, but that it can be cost-effective. Their key contribution was leading a series of national IPM research projects, which for the first time brought together experts from many diverse fields to tackle serious major pests threatening agricultural crops. From 1972 to 1981, Huffaker was director of the IPM Project, which involved 18 universities around the country.